Saturday, November 24, 2007

Ms Huma Abedin was born in Kalamazoo,Mich in 1975 where she lived for a cuppla years.Her family then relocated to sunny Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where she lived the life of a good Wahabi muslim girl. She reurned to the States and attended attended George Washington University.

Her father, who died when she was 17, was an Islamic and Middle Eastern scholar of Indian descent. He founded his own institute devoted to Western-Eastern and interfaith understanding and reconciliation and published a journal focusing on Muslim minorities living in the diaspora.

Her mother, a renowned professor in Saudi Arabia, is Pakistani.

Ms. Abedin recently (June 2006) bought an apartment in the vicinity of 12th and U streets in Washington, D.C. say US$700,000 ... But hey her salary records show she earns US$9,999 as "senior Advisor" to Hilary Rodham Clinton.

Ms. Abedin began working for Mrs. Clinton as an intern for the then First Lady in 1996. She was hired as a staff assistant to the First Lady's chief of staff, Maggie Williams. For several years, she was the backup to Mrs. Clinton's permanent personal aide, Allison Stein, and she officially took over as Mrs. Clinton's aide and advisor around the time of the 2000 Senate race.

Her Presidential campaign title is "travelling chief of staff"... America Radio Networks have detailed 29 trips she took with HRC at a total declared cost of US$49,870.97 .

According to a friend, her favorite designers are Mr. de la Renta, Catherine Malandrino, Charles Nolan and Prada. "And she has a weakness for Marc Jacobs bags," said the friend. "She is known for her bags."

Robert Barnett, the Clintons' longtime attorney, said that in 11 years of knowing her, he has never seen her wear the same outfit twice...

“If you call Hillary’s residence in DC first thing in the morning, Huma answers the phone,” .... is the way nice people explain the domestic situtation of the wannabe President.

But what is new ? On page 42 of my copy of Gennifer Flowers’s 1995 book, Passion and Betrayal. Starting on that page, Bill Clinton’s ex-flame says that he very clearly told her that Hillary is a lesbian:

“There’s something you need to know. I’ve been hearing tales around town that Hillary is having another thing with a woman.” I watched his face to see his reaction, and couldn’t believe it when he burst out laughing. I was stunned! I asked him what was so funny. “Honey,” he said, “she’s probably eaten more pussy than I have.”

Rumours were fed when the loving couple were seen striding out in New York with gay talk show host Ellen DeGeneres during a recent “girl’s only” trip to NYC. ..then Larry Flynt says he is going big on revealing a sitting Senator has a ring through her clitoris.

So the wannabe President is in the sack with her Muslim girl friend ...who cares ?...but it may explain what Mr Novak was doing smearing 'Bama the other day in his column.

Philip Richards, is CEO of Hedge Fund manipulators RAB Capital. Philip Richards is "is one of the City’s most successful fund managers" (Bloomberg).

RAB Capitalbought 6.66% of Northern Rock In September at 275 per share.They also bought some more to raise their stake to 7.1% on October 1st at 195p.

With the current share price at 82p each (ish) Mr Philips has lost his investors so far approx £40 Mn. (Lord Patel has fit of schadenfruede)

Jon Wood, the former UBS trader is CEO of SRM Global Master Fund a Monaco based hedge fund also bought6.44% (27,131,125 shares) of Northern Rock on 21st November at 85p per share.

With their joint holding, they are threatening to make life difficult for Northern Rock, The Treasury, the FSA and the BOE - they could force an EGM (as owners of 10% of the company)....much goo it may do them.

It would be nice if they were told to fuck off - no such luck, as every day passes the prospect of the taxpayers £25 Bn (and rising) investment into the North East housing market being liquidated recedes....

Meanwhile the ECB is said to be ready to flood Europe with funds this coming week....

" Euro-zone banks are hoarding cash in moves reminiscent of August, pushing up short-term borrowing rates and prompting the European Central Bank to say on Friday it will pump extra funds into markets next week and through the beginning of next year, if necessary." (1st time since September 6th)

".... three-month U.S. dollar London interbank offered rate, or Libor, is also rising. It was quoted Friday at 5.04%, compared with 4.98% on Monday."

The only rational solution is for the BOE to assume control over NR (by legislation if necessary), neither the Gubment or the BOE can allow blackmail or sale with no or little prospect of recovery of the loans made.

Only be nationalisation and run-off / sale of the loans can they be assured of recovering some of our money. King should demand this or resign ... failing that he should be strung up outside Threadneedle Street as a warning against talking about "moral hazard" and not having the balls to really stand up and be counted.

Meanwhile Lord Patel draws your attention to his post on August 13th Lombard Street. Walter Bagehot 1873 before all this was made public and just a week after the NR Board and the BOE were talking secretly about loans of £30Bn.... 2 weeks after the Board had declared a divided rise of 33% on the basis of increased profits of 1%.

Bagehot wrote ...

"...[a very high interest rate] will operate as a heavy fine on unreasonable timidity, and will prevent the greatest number of applications by persons who don't require it. The rate should be raised early in the panic, so that the fine may be paid early; that no one may borrow out of idle precaution without paying well for it; that the banking reserve may be protected as far as possible."

Too little and too fucking late and now we all pay the fucking price of their "timidity".

Friday, November 23, 2007

Pravda reports that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stated in Paris that George W. Bush should be placed in an asylum for his comments about a possibility to start Third World War if Iran developed nuclear weapons.

Sir Clive Whitmore, the Ministry of Defence's top civil servant at the time, of the monster and totally corrupt al-Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia shares his Directorship of NM Rothschild with the Old Harrovian Charles Guthrie ( where the boy Mark Thatcher was subject to education before he cleaned up £12 Mn commissions for his mum on the al-Yamamah deal).

Charles Guthrie was of course in the forefront (Director also of Colt defense LLC in the US makers of the M4 carbine amongst other weapons) of the charge against the Prime Minister yesterday...

He is also on the Board , Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel ...where he made a fascinating contribution to a debate "After Iraq: From War to Reconstruction,” with H.E. Akel Biltaji, Chief Commissioner, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, Jordan; General the Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, former Chief of Defense Staff, UK; Dr. Bernard Kouchner, former UN Special representative for Kosovo and former Minister of Health, France (and now Foreign Minister) . Closing remarks were be made by H.E. Sherard Cowper-Coles CMG LVO, UK Ambassador to Israel.

He then attended BGU’s 33rd Annual Board of Governors begins at 2:30 p.m., June 1, 2003, in the Joya Claire Sonnenfeldt Auditorium.

A man of wide interests - he even took thetime to write to the Jeruslaem Post on the 22nd July 2002 along with Professor Sir Aaron Klug, Rt. Hon David Trimble, and Lord Weidenfeld

Monday, July 22, 2002 -- WRONG IN PRINCIPLE AND PRACTICE

Sir, - We, members of The European Council of Ben- Gurion University of the Negev, wish to express our abhorrence at the idea of an academic boycott of Israel. We believe such action infringes the fundamental concept of academic freedom and restricts the ...

Jahongir Sidikov is still in detention at Heathrow, having offered passive resistance to the attempt to deport him today. Next time they will use staff authorised and equipped to use force.

I am deeply depressed. All yesterday I was working on trying to save him from being returned to the horrors of the Karimov regime's treatment of dissidents, and it was like living inside a nightmare. Together with an Uzbek friend, we got in an emergency application to the European Court of Human Rights for an Article 39 stay on deportation as Jahongir's life was in danger. This involved my friend filling and faxing numerous forms. I spoke with the legal officers filing the report to the Court, and with the National Council for Assisting Deportees who told me that a temporary stay was "always...automatically" granted so the case could be investigated. By the early evening Jahongir had already been taken to the airport to be deported, and still no result. Finally, the news came from Strasbourg - the appeal for a delay had been rejected by the assistant registrar of the Court. I have no idea why.

I am still in a genuine state of shock and disbelief that we should start shipping asylum seekers back to Uzbekistan, of all places. It is as though the government have gone into official denial of what kind of place Uzbekistan is. I am also astonished that I have been met with complete indifference from everybody - officials, MPs and journalists. I can't get anybody to take an interest.

I telephoned the British Embassy in Tashkent and the Ambassador, Iain Kelly, refused to speak to me. So both a yes man and a coward, then. In 2003 Iain Kelly was deputy to Matthew Kydd, Head of "Whitehall Liasion Department", the link between the FCO and MI6. Kelly's boss Kydd told me that it had been decided between Richard Dearlove and Jack Straw as a matter of policy that we should use intelligence from torture in the context of the War on Terror, specifically from Uzbekistan, and that this intelligence was "operationally useful". (Murder in Samarkand pp 160-2)

Iain Kelly is therefore not just passively but actively implicated in the policy of cooperation with the torture of Uzbek dissidents by the Uzbek intelligence services. He will also have been directly implicated in the use of intelligence obtained by torture through extraordinary rendition, in Uzbekistan and elsewhere.

It is therefore essential that the Uzbek human rights community are aware of this and do not trust the British Embassy with any information or cooperation in future.

The choice of Kelly as the new British Ambassador. together with the decision to end EU sanctions against the regime and to start handing over dissidents like Sidikov to the Uzbek regime, seems to indicate a return to a closer relationship with Karimov.

After Kelly refused to speak with me, I received an email from a junior official in the FCO asking me to route my enquiry through her. She confirmed that the FCO was aware of the deportation of Jahongir Sidikov and had liased with the Home Office on it. I asked if there were any arrangements in place to track what happened to him once he arrived back in Tashkent. Evidently there were not, but she promised to speak to the Embassy about it.

Craig followed up with this email:

Sarah, We spoke. I should be most grateful if you could ensure that, should Mr Sidikov be deported as planned today, the Embassy monitors what happens to him and maintains an interest in his welfare. As I am sure you are aware, there is a strong argument that any deportation of Mr Sidikov is in contravention of Article 3 of the UN Convention Against Torture, to which the UK is a state party. Have Legal Advisers been consulted?

I should also be grateful if you could inform me whether diplomatic assurances have been sought from the government of Uzbekistan over treatment of those refouled, and if so with what result, and what weight you place upon any assurances from the government of Uzbekistan? This is the first time, to my knowledge, that we have deported an asylum seeker to Uzbekistan. Is that correct? I shall remain regularly in touch for updates on Mr Sidikov's situation. If this man is tortured or killed because the UK government sent him back to the custody of what is widely acknowledged to be one of the worst regimes on Earth, it will not be able to be kept secret.

Best Wishes, Craig

Again, I restate my disbelief that we are doing this. How on Earth can we consider deporting dissidents back to Uzbekistan. Do Ministers not know what happens in that country, or do they just not care? And why can't I get any politician, journalist or official even vaguely interested?

Even on the internet, no prominent bloggers have shown any interest. I don't know that I have ever felt so frustrated and alone - but my problems are nothing compared to how Jahongir must be feeling. To sit in a condemned cell awaiting a relatively quick death must be awful. But to await the kind of things the Uzbek security services will do to you - and to be awaiting them in England - is unthinkable.

VT group has its roots in two shipbuilders, Vosper and Thornycroft, who both started out in the late 19th Century. The two companies merged in 1966, and twenty years later Vosper Thornycroft was floated on the London Stock Exchange and later changed it's name to the VT group.

Meet one of our Directors...

In the House of Lords yesterday , Lord Boyce, (one of a quinqumvirate of ex MOD desk warriors) warned those awake that : "We are seriously endangering our people because of the lack of money being given to equip, train and properly support those in the second line preparing to rotate to the frontline. Not least because those units have been robbed of the equipment needed to train on." BBC Online

Lord Boyce, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff for 13 years, is particularly concerned about the state of the Royal Navy. He also accused ministers of being misleading over the amount of money going into the armed forces.

"The smoke and mirrors work of the Government, and in particular the Treasury, actually means that the core defence programme has had no effective budget rise at all," he said.

Atkins is one of the world's leading providers of professional, technologically based consultancy and support services. In the defence and aerospace sector we turnover around £150m per year in supporting the definition and delivery of many of the largest defence and aerospace programmes in the UK.

See Annual report2004 Page 17 The Board also appointed two new Non-Executive Directors inMay 2004.... Admiral the Lord Boyce has had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy and the Ministry of Defence. He brings defence and public sector experience to the Group, as well as considerable international knowledge. Sir Peter Williams has had a very successful career in industry and the academic world. He has extensive involvement in the recruitment of graduates into the engineering professions through his chairmanship of the Engineering and Technology Board.

UKNDA United Kingdom National Defence Association Is an organisation formed to campaign for sufficient, appropriate and fully funded Armed Forces that the United Kingdom needs to defend effectively this Country, its people, their vital interests and security at home and throughout the world.

...and look who is on the top table....

Read press articles following the launch of UKNDA on Thursday 8th November 2007:

Defra's gormless man in the House of Lords Lord Jeff" Rooker "officially" opened the UK’s first bioethanol plant opened which is operated by British Sugar’s Wissington factory in Norfolk yesterday. It is planned to produce 70 million litres of bioethanol annually from locally-grown sugar beet.

Production trials finally started at the £20Mn. plant at Wissington in September with commercial deliveries starting at the end of September. "The plant will be completed and operational by February 2007 and will manufacture 55,000 tonnes (70 million litres) of bioethanol each year." - British Sugar Press release Jan 26th 2006 when Baroness Gillian Shephard of Northwold attended a breaking ground ceremony at the site.

“Sustainable biofuels can play an important role in reducing our carbon footprint and I am pleased to see the UK is leading the way in promoting sustainable biofuel production,” Lord Rooker said - as Brazil have been producing ethanol from sugar for over 20 years it is difficult to see how the UK leads the way.

British Sugar chief executive Mark Carr is quoted saying that “We are delighted to take the UK lead in this exciting new industry. Against a background of unprecedented change in the European sugar industry we are transforming our business.”

Wissington also provides its own electricity and exports up to 50Mw to the national supply network from a 50Mw gas turbine and a 30Mw steam turbine. The combined heat and power (CHP) plant also provides heat and carbon dioxide to the adjacent horticulture business, which produces tomatoes under 11ha of glass.

New bioethanol plant at Saltend Hull

BS has also entered a joint venture with BP and DuPont to build a 420million litre bioethanol plant at Saltend, Hull. UK-grown wheat will be used to supply the plant and production is expected to come on stream in 2009.

The commercial-scale plant will convert a variety of feedstocks, from wheat and sugar beet to ethanol, and will produce 420 million litres of fuel ethanol a year. Wheat will be sourced locally via an agreement between the joint venture and two other ABF businesses, Frontier Agriculture and AB Agri.

BP and the ABF subsidiary British Sugar plc will each own 45% of the new grass roots facility, with DuPont owning the remaining 10%.Of the £200MN construction costs The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing £60m at an "attractive rate of interest". When operating the plant will require 70 staff.

Biobutanol in the future

A biobutanol pilot plant is planned to run alongside the bioethanol plant which will be used to develop the next generation of sustainable biofuels (capable of producing 20,000 l a year) from a wider variety of feedstocks.

Aker Kvaerner are leaders of the construction consortium to execute the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) for the project. Aker Kvaerner will then work on the project in conjunction with its joint venture (BioCnergy Europa) partner Praj Industries (Praj) from India to provide the technology and process package.

In June 2007 Aker Kvaerner formed a joint venture with Praj Industries,(with global experience in alcohol and brewery technology and related bioprocessing and engineering) to form a new company called BioCnergy Europa. Praj holds 60% in BioCnergy, while Aker Kvaerner holds 40% of the shareholding.The Company will be headed by Ronald van der Vlist, presently Director of Technology at Aker Kvaerner who claims ,"'There is no equivalent Company which operates exclusively for the biofuels industry offering turnkey solutions".

The bioethanol plant will be constructed in conjunction with a biobutanol pilot plant which will be used to develop the next generation of sustainable biofuels (capable of producing 20,000 l a year) from a wider variety of feedstocks.

Biobutanol can be used in engines with little conversion and has been put forward as the clean fuel for aircraft ( bearded wonder Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic hopes to run his fleet of aircraft on butanol and is investing other people's money in the technology).

See Tuesday, June 12, 2007 The Problem With Biobutanol for a useful report about this much hyped fuel . e.g Butanol is obtained by fermentation of biomass using Clostridium acetobutylicum (which Weizmann used for producing acetone).Butanol inhibits cell growth even at relatively low concentrations, and its final titers are limited to ca. 13 g/liter = 1.3% butanol which then requires distillation and the use of more energy.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The RAF's "newest and most versatile multi-role fighter"( (c) RAF), Eurofighter Typhoon in development for 18 years and after the expenditure of zillions (say about half what we will lose in Northern Wreck ...ish) has just dropped it's first bomb on 15th November from an in-service Typhoon. (BAE systems dropped one on October 17th)

A 1000lb Paveway 2 laser guided bomb (LGB) was dropped by a Typhoon of No. 11 Squadron based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire. The bomb was dropped / aimed 20 miles out in Cardigan Bay at the QinetiQ weapons range at Aberporth, Cardigan - where they have been developing the totally useless UK UAV for over 25 years without success - which is why the Army use Israeli UAV's in Afghanistan - when they can find someone to train to use them.

This wasn't a solof effort because the The RAF Typhoon carrying out the trial was accompanied by a BAE Systems twin-seat Typhoon which was carrying a Rafael Litening lll laser pod which illuminated the target. This was from the RAF's 17(Reserve) Squadron, the Operational Evaluation Unit, which is also based at RAF Coningsby.

Baroness Taylor, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support said; the Earthe moved for me "The first RAF bomb drop is a significant step towards the Typhoon being ready for operational use."

Trials will continue to achieve an initial air-to-ground attack capability by the summer of 2008. This follows on from the aircraft being declared operational in the air-to-air role, defending UK air space from aerial threats, on 29 June this year.

Lord Patel Public Service Announcement No 1 (Many more to follow)If you have a child and receive Child benefits you will shortly be receiving a letterfrom a man called Mr Hartnett (No rank, number, regiment etc., given - see pic) - it is also available at the HMRC website. It starts ....

Child Benefit customer update

"I am writing to make a personal apology. A copy of some HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) data about families, including yours, who have received Child Benefit has been lost. The copy of the data is likely to still be on Government property. The police are now conducting a search, and there is no evidence that it is in the possession of anyone else. This will not affect your Child Benefit payments.

This data includes your and your children’s names and dates of birth, your address, your National Insurance number and, where relevant, the details of the bank or building society account into which your Child Benefit is or was paid.

If you are paid through a bank or building society, they are aware of this matter. They are acting on this information, and assure us that they have appropriate safeguards in place to protect you....etc., "

Existing fraud attemptsWe want to make sure you can recognise a fraudulent email if you receive one. We have produced the list below of recent fraudulent emails that have been brought to our attention and will update regularly with news of new phishing activity.

Evidently there is widespread evidence that the HMRC clients are subject (and have been for a very long time) to heavy and continuous "phishing" which is often done by hanging the fraudulent request by e-mail for financial details of the recipient VIZ .the HMRC helpfully details as a handy DIY guide for wannabe "phishers" ....

Current phishing scams The following phishing activity is the most frequently reported fraud attempt to HMRC at the present time.

Tax Rebate - Updated 19 September 2007e-mails based on the pretext that a payment of tax will be paid directly into their bank account.Previous forms, have shown a potential tax rebate using the email addresses of:

admin@hmrc.gsi.gov.ukinfo@hmrc.gsi.gov.ukno-reply@hmrc.gsi.gov.ukHM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) does not send out emails using these email addresses.An example of the tax rebate scam.Example 2 (added 14 August 2007).Example 3 (added 14 August 2007).

A number of frauds state that a parcel containing a cheque in respect of lottery winnings has been impounded by HMRC. It will only be released when a substantial tax sum is paid, which will form a percentage of the winnings. This is a fraud.An example of the Stop Order fraud.

Previous phishing scamsThe following are phishing attempts that you need to be aware of. Each of these has been reported to HMRC previously.Anti-Terrorist Certificate - This is a scam involving postal items supposedly being stopped by Customs that require the purchase of an Anti-Terrorist Certificate before being released. There is no such certificate in existence within HM Revenue & Customs.Child Benefit and Income Support - Unsolicited emails are being issued advising the recipient may be entitled to Child Benefit. A non-Departmental email address and mobile numbers are being used as the contact points for this scam. An example of the Child Benefit and Income Support scam.Compensation - This scam is aimed at people who supposedly have already been the subject of a fraud attempt. The email requests personal details on the pretext that compensation will be paid. An example of the compensation scam.Export Clearance Process (Delivery Stop Order) - A number of frauds state that a parcel containing a cheque in respect of lottery winnings, or a legacy left in a will, has been held up by Customs at an airport or dock and requires payment of a percentage of the winnings. This will be a fraud. An example of the Export Clearance Process (Delivery Stop Order).Fake P86 form - Letters are being sent with fake P86 Forms, which ask for personal information from taxpayers employed outside the UK. These Forms are fake and should not be completed. Further details can be found at Fraud attempt – Fake P86 Form.Telephone Variations - A new variant of scam Export Clearance Process (Delivery Stop Order) is that the individual may be contacted by telephone rather than email. We have seen examples where customers are contacted by someone purporting to be from HM Customs & Excise, claiming that for a payment of £400 by wire transfer, they would release goods to them worth £250,000. Please note: HMRC does not contact customers in this way. One telephone number used in this fraud is 0207 099 2114.

Anyway HMRC have now decided to save the fraudsters a lot of trouble and have issued everybody's details on a handy couple of CD's. Keep an eye on e Bay to secure your personal copy.

How else are they going to cut jobs ?

PS : we have tracked down Dave Hartnett CB (BTW Mr Paul Gray still apppears as Chairman on the HMRC (website): Dave's ExCom portfolio includes Businesses Customer Unit, Large Business Service, Corporation Tax and VAT, Anti-avoidance and Central Policy.

Dave joined the Inland Revenue in 1976. He worked for nearly 10 years on investigation work before becoming Director of Claims Branch in 1991. In 1994 he was appointed Director of the Financial Intermediaries and Claims Office moving in 1996 to lead the technical team on personal taxation. In 1998 he was appointed Director of Capital and Savings, with tax policy responsibility for capital taxes, savings, pensions, share schemes, charity tax issues and stamp duty. He led the 2000 quinquennial review of the Valuation Office Agency before his current appointment in 2000.

Unsurprisingly when you look at his pic you find he studied Latin at Birmingham University, graduating in 1973. After research in Roman social history he became a graduate tax inspector spending the first ten years of his career in Birmingham.

He is married and has three children. He was awarded a CB in the 2003.

Steve Lamey BTW is Chief Operating Officer which includes Continuous Improvement and Departmental Transformation Programme. (whatever the fuck that means)

He became Chief Information Officer (CIO) for both former Departments in October 2004. In October 2007, he was appointed to a new role, Chief Operating Officer, to oversee and co-ordinate all performance including development of future performance measures.

He sounds like the guy in the VERY hot seat. In which he is joined by ..

Deepak took on the role of Chief Information Officer (CIO) of HMRC, from Steve Lamey who has been appointed to new post of Chief Operating Officer for HMRC.

Deepak joined HMRC in June 2006 from T-Mobile where he was an Executive Vice President responsible for IT Strategy, Governance, Quality Management and Change Management.Having graduated from York University in 1985, Deepak has spent over 20 years in the commercial sector and brings with him extensive experience of leading large scale IT activities. He has worked for a number of private sector organisations including: nPower, AstraZeneca, Jaguar Cars and Philips Electronics.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

"I want to say thank you very very much to the Israeli football team, " Foreign Secretary David Miliband said at a meeting with Defense Minister Ehud Barak. "Now every Englishman is cheering the Israeli nation for their great service to help us."

Livni referred to the Israeli team's unexpected victory. "I think this visit is a successful visit even before it started due to the Israeli achievement in the football game that makes some of the streets of London very happy and supportive when it comes to Israel. But, of course, we also had some -- I don't want to say more serious, because football is serious enough, but we also discussed the situation in the region, the future of the bilateral tracks between Israel and the Palestinians when it comes to Annapolis and the day after Annapolis, the threat coming from Iran to the region and to the world as well."

Miliband continued in the same vein, noting that "in addition to the football," bilateral relations are "strong" and "deep" and "I look forward to taking that to ever greater levels."

The boy David was however brought up sharp in this footballing love in when asked about the recent revelation of a private email exchange published in the Jewish Chronicle that made it clear that His Royal Highness Prince Charles refused to visit Israel because he doesn't want to improve Israel's international image by visiting. (Times online)..."A spokesman for the Israeli Embassy said it had “no idea” how the correspondence had reached The Jewish Chronicle. "

Miliband's footwork was better than Israel's Golan in sidestepping that one.

"Let me deal with the question about Prince Charles first because I think it will be a very -- not very bad but very wrong for anyone in Israel to have the impression that somehow Prince Charles didn't want to come here on the base of an e-mail exchange amongst his staff. I spoke to Prince Charles on Friday evening after I'd read the story in the newspapers on Friday and he said to me that he remembered well his last visit here at the time of the -- the tragic time of Yitzchak Rabin's funeral. He also made it absolutely clear, and I'm very pleased to make it clear today, that as soon as the Israeli government is -- assuming the Israeli government is keen to organize a visit by the Prince of Wales and of course all other members of the Royal Family, then of course the government and Clarence House will be happy to enter into those discussions to find the right time and the right place to take this forward. So I think we can scotch comprehensively any suggestion of difficulties in that area."

Miliband was glad to rwetreat to football, referring to the Israeli star Yossi Benayoun, who recently scored a three-goal "hat trick" but then was placed on the injured list by his Liverpool squad. He implied, presumably in jest, that the injury was the reason that a royal visit to Israel had to be reconsidered. "we were all very worried when Mr. Benayoun was ruled out by injury, the Liverpool star. Obviously we had to think whether the visit could take place under such a deep, diplomatic cloud but we rejoice in the success of Israel yesterday and we look forward to making sure that our side of the bargain, which is the correct result against Croatia, is the next step, but we're extremely grateful to the Israeli team for their help in this regard.

Livni chimed in: "And that our success is their success."

Lucky for her the Russian minister wasn't in town.

For now, she can at least be content that the Brits won't be pushing Israel to give back the Golan. At least not the player.

But when Yossi Benayoun is feeling better,no doubt Charlie and the lovely Camilla will be booking on El Al for some winter sunshine in Eilat.

For the first time, Britain will tomorrow deport a failed asylum seeker back to Uzbekistan. Jahongir Sidikov, a member of the banned main opposition party Erk, is currently held in Harmondsworth Detention Centre. His ticket has already been purchased for deportation tomorrow.

Previously, as a matter of policy, this country did not deport political activists to Uzbekistan because they will face severe torture and probable death. The totalitarian Uzbek government has since become even more repressive, with widespread imprisonment, torture and extra-judicial killing of dissidents. The immigration officers who escort Jahongir onto that plane are in effect implementing capital punishment. This is a deeply, deeply shameful action by New Labour.

Stoke Mandeville Hospital was investigated by the HSE after a Healthcare Commission (HC) report claimed that there were “serious failings” in the hospital’s response to Clostridium difficle infection infecting 334 and killing 33 patients between October 2003 and June 2005. The HSE decided that they were unable to bring criminal proceedings against the trust due to a lack of “admissable evidence”.

Thames Valley Police and the Crown Prosecution Service were asked to consider the HC’s report under the terms of the “Work-Related Deaths Protocol”. Their conclusion was there was insufficient evidence of a “causal link” to the action of any individual and the deaths of the patients involved.

Individual victims, or thier families may of course prosecute in particular cases where they believe clinical negligence may have occurred.

Sandra Caldwell, HSE Director of Field Operations, said:

“On the basis of the evidence available, HSE did not find sufficient admissible evidence to be able to bring criminal proceedings against the Trust, alleging a link between management failures and particular deaths.”

“We did find some breaches relating to the requirements to keep documents. However, as these were not directly linked to any of the deaths and were of a relatively minor nature, HSE decided that it would not be in the public interest to bring legal proceedings against the Trust and its managers in relation to these matters."

An investigation into the handling of C. difficile outbreaks at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in which 90 people died is still being carried out by the HSE and Kent Police.The Healthcare Commissionreport July 24th 2006 ..

"The primary factor however, was the failure to isolate patients with the infection. The nature of the hospital made control of the infection extremely difficult. There were few single rooms that could be used to isolate patients with infections and, in 2003, the number of rooms available for isolation was cut further because of the Trust’s decision to reconfigure its wards and ring fence beds to prioritise other patients.

The Trust’s drive to meet the target for A&E, which requires all patients have a maximum wait of four hours from admission to discharge, led to some patients with infections being admitted or moved out of A&E within the target time into open wards rather than isolation facilities. "

At the Las Vegas televised questioning of both Dem Presidential candidates, Shrill HIll and 'Bam, the ridiculously named Wolf Blitzer inroduced the audience as "“ordinary people, undecided voters.”

Plant : LaShannon Spencer, whom Blitzer introduced as an "undecided voter", served as the political director of the Democratic Party in Little Rock, Arkansas - where Bill and Hill hail from.

Plant: Maria Luisa a UNLV student asked Hillary Clinton whether she preferred "diamonds or pearls" -- wrote on her "My Space" that CNN forced her to ask the "frilly" question instead of a pre-approved query regarding the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility.

For lots more details of the "undecided voters" see also The War against Political Correctness and the CNN transcript for the details of many others and many, many links from Doug Ross - there were more plants in the uadience than a well stocked greenhouse.

Senator Obama said: "What the American people are looking for right now is straight answers to tough questions." Correct.

Senator Clinton said: "It is important that we have a candidate that is tested and a president who is ready to lead from day one." Also correct.

Thanks to Wolfie , CNN and an incurious press the whole of this faraggo was presented as "News" on worldwide TV / Radio / Press see MSNBC "VIVA LAS VEGAS: THE REVIEWS "

and.... wudja bleeve it ?

CNN Politics "Analysis: Clinton makes a recovery in Las Vegas debate"... " Sen. Hillary Clinton stepped into the ring Thursday in this city known for prize fights, successfully beating back an onslaught of punches thrown from the left and right ..."

Monday, November 19, 2007

Adam Applegarth CEO (now almost EX CEO) of Northern Rock gave an interview published on June 28th on "Thisismoney.co.uk.

This was 2 days before the period end when six month interim accounts were drawn up by the Directors, and just after the company isued a profits warning.

It is worth remembering that he had sold on Lord Patel's birthday 25th Jan 2006 52,253 shares @ 957p = £500,061.21 and the next day 111,426 shares @ 957p = £1,066,346.82).

April 2007 he bought under a company wide share scheme 262 shares for a approx £3,000...

Quotes :

"All of Applegarth's wealth is tied up with Northern, where he has his mortgage, current account and his company pension. "

"I genuinely think Northern Rock shares are a steal, so to a certain extent we are vulnerable because we are small. Of course it would be good to remain independent, but we are a PLC and I am not the master of that destiny. "

"Bear Stearns reckons fast-growing Northern's business model is flawed in the current environment, when Libor is accelerating faster than the Bank of England base rate. "

"This is the stickiest rate environment there could be for us, yet we are still getting a 15% profit increase. But that kind of gets lost in the wash," ( The 6 months results showed a profit increase of 1%)

"There are always good days and bad days,' he smiles. The bitterness of the profit downgrade was sweetened by Northern finally receiving its Basle II waiver yesterday, which will release spare capital and pave the way for 'a huge increase in dividends and share buybacks" (The 6 months accounts incorporated a dividend increased by 33%.)

A hearing is scheduled for November 28th in the case of the indicted escort agency owner / operator Deborah Palfrey - her "escorts" provided only legal "sexual fantasy services" .

Her colourful Attorney Montgomery Blair Sibley has subpoenaed the Louisiana Republican first-term senator David Vitter to testify.(pic with his wife)

Sibley said he'll ask Vitter pointedly, "As a client, did you engage in illegal sex acts?"

Vitter can fight the subpoena or take the Fifth.

Palfrey is also attempting to subpoena a former escort who was employed as a legal secretary at the firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld - known to her escort customers as "Jennifer".

In a recent filing with the Supreme Court, Sibley revealed that he earns $3,700 a month, for an annual total of $44,400, and drives a 2004 Mazda. Sibley offered the data to gain "pauper status" with the Court -- entitling him to skip the "insurmountable barrier" of paying the Court's $300 filing fee and the costs of printing 40 copies of his petition

You can also click here and view the You Tube interview by Wendy Cortez with Larry Flynt's Hustler Magazine (issue 2008 hit the stands Nov 13th) , her long time "business relationship" with him, how he kept his used condoms (ugh), and his tiny, tiny penis.

Presumably you can go to the Northern Rock and explain that you are solvent, but suffering from a short-term liquidity crisis and need a loan of about half of your mortgage value to see you through the next few weeks.

Vincent Cable the Lib Dem temporary leader said on BBC4 "Today" at 7.15 am that Mr Adam Applegarth the (now EX (ish)) CEO of Northern Wreck that he unloaded his NR shares at the top of the market.

Sam provides (Thanks Sam) a link to Thursday's Guradian which details Applegarth's car of choice is an Aston Martin whilst his wife prefers a Ferrari (natch). The banking Union , Unite, has identified sales by the criminal CEO of MR share sales in 2006 and 2007. On one day last year, Applegarth sold 111,426 shares for £1.06m and in January he sold a further 135,963 shares for £1.62m at near their peak price of £11.98. Northern Rock shares have since slumped to a low of nearly £1; yesterday they closed at 133 and have been trading this morning at 100p.

It would be of interest to know who was bailing out between the period end June 30th (price 850p) and the weekend of August 4/5 the (750p) when it was known by the Board that funding of up to £30 Bn was required from BOE.

Vince also called (again) for nationalisation - the only commentator who has consistently talked sense since all this erupted.

Meanwhile Darling is now re-defining throwing money down a black hole as "restructuring aid" and is preparing to make a Statement to the HOC some time this week.

November 17, 2007 -- AGENTS of Sen. Hillary Clinton are spreading the word in Democratic circles that she has scandalous information about her principal opponent for the party's presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, but has decided not to use it. The nature of the alleged scandal was not disclosed... is what columnist Robert Novack said under the headline ...HILL SHILLS HINT AT 'BAM SLAM in the thoroughly trustworthy New York Post. (Rumour reaches Lord Patel that Novak's info is that 'Bam was a covert CIA officer ... so ?)

“The item did not identify these ‘agents,’ nor did it reveal the nature of the charge. It was devoid of facts, but heavy on innuendo and insinuation of the sort to which we've become all too accustomed in our politics these past two decades. If the purpose of this shameless item was to daunt or discourage me or supporters of our campaign from challenging and changing the politics of Washington, it will fail. In fact, it will only serve to steel our resolve."

Watch this space.

PS : Handy info on Mr Novak here NY review of Books review by Russell Baker of Novak's recently published "The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years of Reporting in Washington"

EADS North America (part of German EADS) supplied 2 UH-72A Light Utility Helicopters ( the 11th and 12th delivered to date , 2nd and 3rd made in the USA) to the U.S. in October . These were delivered from from the newly-expanded state-of-the-art Lakota 325,000 sq. ft. production center at Golden Triangle Regional AirportColumbus, Mississippi,operated by the American Eurocopter business unit of EADS North America. This is basically a modified version of the commercial version of the EurocopterEC 145 and this order marks EADS first major military contract in the North American market, and is among their larger orders overall and has a long list of US based parts suppliers.

Up to 322 Lakotas will be supplied for use within the United States for a total US$2.6 BN. They will be used for homeland security operations, medical evacuation, passenger/logistics transportation and drug interdiction missions with delivereies of 3 a month next year rising to 5 a month in 2009.

Joe RedCloud, a chief of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Lakota Nation was present at the ceremony on December 12th 2006 at Columbus, MI delivering the first unit - The US Army has a tradition of using American Indian names, such as terms, tribes and chiefs for its helicopters, (and tanks after Generals) .."In the case of the Lakota aircraft, the linkage is between the Lakota legacy as stalwart defenders of their homeland and the nature of the aircraft's intended domestic missions. "

AP reporthowever on the basis of internal reports they have seen prepared by Charles McQueary, the Defense Department's director of operational testing - They aren't safe to fly on hot days.

Flying in mild mild, 80-degree weather in unexpectedly sunny South California, cockpit temperatures in the UH-72A Lakota soared above 104, the point at which the Army says the communication, navigation and flight control systems can overheat and shut down.

The Army has told AP that to fix the cockpit overheating problem, it will take the highly unusual step of adding air conditioners to many of the 322 helicopters ordered.

The Lakota represents the Army's first major effort to adapt commercially available helicopters for military use. Air conditioning is standard in commercial versions of the aircraft, which have not had overheating problems. But the military usually avoids air conditioning in military aircraft to reduce weight and increase performance.

A commercial design was chosen to cut costs and speed aircraft into the field replacing ageing Vietnam-era helicopters, the Kiowa and Huey. The Lakota deployment should also free up more Blackhawks to send to Iraq for medical evacuation flights.

The Lakota represents the Army's first major effort to adapt commercially available helicopters for military use. Air conditioning is standard in commercial versions (air conditioning unit per aircraft is about US$98,000, )of the aircraft, which have not had overheating problems. But the military usually avoids air conditioning in military aircraft to reduce weight and increase performance.

"We don't need air conditioning in the Blackhawks, so we didn't think it would be an issue" in the Lakota, McCuin said. "But when we got the helicopter into the desert, we realized it was a problem."

Inadequate ventilation, heat from electronic systems and sunlight streaming through the large windows caused cockpit temperatures to reach 104.9 degrees during a simulated mission in California.

The report did not say how long the helicopter was in the air before it reached that temperature. The Lakota is supposed to be able to fly for 2.8 hours.

The Lakota has another problem: Testers said it fails to meet the Army's requirement that it be able to simultaneously evacuate two critically injured patients. The Lakota can hold two patients, but the cabin is too cramped for medics to actually work on more than one of them at a time, the testers said.

Also, the Lakota cannot lift a standard 2,200-pound firefighting water bucket, though it can handle a 1,400-pound one. The Army said it had no intention of using the Lakota to fight wildfires anyway.

PS: The Osprey (Albatross) was due for deployment in Iraq in October 2006 - early 2007 - late 2007.....

In the photograph from EADS above, the Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down at Edwards Air Force base as a UH-72A Lakota stands ready to provide medical airlift support

17.5 Chief Inspector ZT is attached to the CO19 firearms section of LEMANSTREET. He was appointed as the Post-Incident Manager. At 1015 Chief Inspector ZT commenced a post-incident log. He was engaged inconversations with the DPS (Directorate of Professional Standards).

17.20 Following the shooting of Jean Charles DE MENEZES, theCommissioner of the Metropolitan Police wrote to Sir John GIEVE,Permanent Secretary, at the Home Office (copy here)informing him that he had given a direction that the IPCC would not be given access to the scene ofthe shooting and the matter would not be referred to by the IPCC. Indeed at 10:55hrs, on 22 July 2005, 49 minutes after the fatal shooting,Detective Superintendent ZP of the Directorate of Professional Standards recorded in his policy file the direct order from theCommissioner was that the IPCC was to be excluded.

17.21 Chief Inspector ZT also recorded in his decision log at 10:48hrs only 42 minutes after the shooting that the IPCC were to be excluded. He states that he was told that this was on the authority of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and the Prime Minister.

The letter from Blair to Gieve was curiously dated 21st July, and is obviously properly dated 22nd July... it states ..." In the meeting we had with the Prime Minister yesterday " ...presumably in the aftermath of the 21/7 "bombings".

42 minutes after the murder of de Menezes, both the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police (Blair)and the Prime Minister (Blair)were able to (quite illegally) keep the IPCC off the case.

The IPCC report lamely reports ..

17.22 The pressures under which the Metropolitan Police were operating following the events of 7 July and 21 July are self-evident. However, the fact that the independent body established by an Act of Parliament to investigate complaints and serious incidents involving the police, andwhich has independently investigated every fatal police shooting since 1 April 2004 was now to be excluded from the scene, is a major concern for an independent investigation, and should never occur again.

Might it not be a good idea to find out from the (now ex) Prime Minister why he authorised the exc lusion of the IPCC as recorded by Chief Inspector ZT (who is handily also "attached to the CO19 firearms section of LEMANSTREET") in his post incident log 42 minutes after the murder?

Might it not be a good idea to find out from Chief Inspector ZT who actually communicated the Prime Ministerial and Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police authorisation to him , and it's nature - phone call, e mail, written, verbal ?

17.19 In this incident no initial notes were obtained. It is worthy of comment that eight officers have been interviewed under caution in relation to alleged comments about the terms ‘armed police’ being used prior to Mr DE MENEZES being killed. The fact that the officers made their notes together will attract comment. It is understood that it is general practice that officers are to be treated as witnesses of truth unless and until they are suspected of criminal offences. It follows that they are permitted to make their notes together.

..... not to mention the complete absence of any evidence from civilian witnesses to the murder.....except

20.90 It may be of significance that none of the 17 passengers in the carriage recall hearing a challenge of ‘armed police’. There is no doubt that CO19 officers shouted police and armed police as they ran down the escalators, but there is significant doubt as to whether they shouted thisin the carriage.